“Starting this Monday, March 30, the DC Circulator will extend its service hours by two hours on week nights and add Saturday service on the Union Station—Navy Yard Metro and Potomac Avenue Metro—Skyland via Barracks Row routes.

Both routes will run Mondays through Fridays from 6 am to 9 pm, and Saturdays from 7 am to 9 pm. The extended hours will run until Saturday, October 3, 2015.

Union Station–Navy Yard Metro Stop Change

As of March 30, buses at Union Station headed in the direction of Navy Yard will only serve the stop at Massachusetts Avenue, NE, and Columbus Circle, NE, before turning right at Columbus Circle to head south on Second Street, NE.

Buses on this route will no longer service the First Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NE, or Second Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NE, bus stops headed eastbound.

DC Circulator to Ballpark

For every Washington Nationals night game (beginning at 4:05 pm or later), the Union Station—Navy Yard route will operate until midnight. For Sunday home games, the route will operate from 10 am to 10 pm.”

We knew the future of metro was coming soon! Now we know when – April 14th!

From WMATA:

“The date is set, Metro customers, and your new ride will soon be here.

Metro has announced that the system’s first 7000-series train will enter passenger service Tuesday, April 14, on the Blue Line.

The introduction of the first new train will be the most significant milestone to date for a project that has spanned nearly five years from approval and funding, through design and engineering, to testing and certification.

The first train in regular passenger service with eight 7000 series cars will depart from Franconia-Springfield shortly after 7 a.m. on April 14. The Blue Line serves five of Metro’s six jurisdictions: Fairfax County, the City of Alexandria, Arlington County, the District of Columbia and Prince George’s County. (more…)

“As part of the District’s Potholepalooza campaign, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will temporarily close R Street, NW, in Ward 2, between 13th and 14th Streets, today, Thursday, March 26, 2015, from 11 am to 2 pm.

Extensive pothole filling is needed along this block to ensure the roadway is safe for the public. Commuters are asked to use alternative routes.”

“Metro today unveiled new safety preparedness videos to show riders what they should do in the event of an emergency involving smoke or fire on a train or in a station.

The 60-second videos, available in English and Spanish, will be aired on local television stations as Public Service Announcements. In addition, Metro has purchased paid advertising time to maximize awareness. The ads will begin airing next week.

“We encourage all of our customers to take a moment to review the new video,” said Metro Interim General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Jack Requa. “We will continue to take steps to improve safety and emergency preparedness for our riders in the weeks and months ahead.”

The English-version video features Metro Transit Police Detective Erin Cooper. In the wake of the January 12 incident, customers indicated that they wanted additional information about what to do in an emergency and that they trust Metro Transit Police to deliver that message.

The three-minute version, intended for online presentation on wmata.com and social media, features an introduction from MTPD Chief Ron Pavlik and Prince George’s County Fire & Rescue Chief Marc Bashoor. Chief Bashoor also serves as the Chair of the Council of Governments Fire Chiefs Committee.”

As a dedicated X2 rider for 4 years, the X2 has changed a lot – and the rise of the “bus bunching” last year was noticeable and aggravating. I’m glad WMATA is dedicating more resources to handling this busy route.

Though, while the frequency of buses has increased 6am-7pm on weekdays – there is still a persistent gap in service from 7pm-7:30/45 – which after a long day is never fun.

To meet demand, we increased the frequency of buses to an even 8 minutes all day long – 6:00am-7:00pm on weekdays.
We deployed a team of dedicated supervisors on the street (at Minnesota Avenue and Lafayette Square) and at the Bus Operations Control Center to ensure even spacing between buses on weekdays. The X2 is now a “headway-managed” route on weekdays, meaning our primary goal is to maintain buses evenly every 8 minutes throughout the day.
We adjusted the scheduled running times by about 15% for all trips.

The results have been impressive: ridership has jumped 14% from 12,700/day in October 2014 to 13,800 in February, overcrowding (particularly during the midday) has been virtually eliminated, and on-time performance has grown to 83% – a remarkable achievement for a heavily congested urban corridor.”

“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has instituted single-lane closures in each direction northbound and southbound on Rock Creek Parkway beginning at P Street, NW, because of recently fallen debris from the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge overpass today, March 24.

During the evening rush, starting at 4 pm, two lanes will be maintained northbound until 6:30 pm. Following the rush hour, DDOT will reinstitute single-lane closures until later in the evening.

This area was closed earlier this morning due to falling debris from the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge. DDOT’s engineers are continuing to inspect the bridge and take corrective actions as needed.

This closure will lead to moderate-to-heavy delays in the traffic in this area.

DDOT encourages all commuters to stay alert as they travel through this corridor.”

One reader writes:

“Did you see RCP was a hot mess this morning? Bricks fell from the underside of the P St bridge. Right 2 lanes were closed at 8:15 when I passed through. Scary infrastructure issues this week!”

Another says:

“I was driving south on Rock Creek Parkway this morning, and the police had the two right lanes closed under the bridge that connects Georgetown to West End. When I drove by, there were a couple guys on the phone looking at the bottom of the bridge, which appears to have lost some concrete and was showing exposed rebar.”